What exactly did we have figured out? Perhaps I see things differently as someone in my mid-30's but we've been at war almost my entire life.
Iraq and Syria were obliterated. Afghanistan didn't fare much better and was the longest war in U.S history.
Russia has been killing people in its so-called "sphere of influence" my entire life as well. Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine.
Parts of Africa, such as the Congo and Somalia, have been de-facto war zones for decades.
I don't mean to sound harsh but your comment about humanity, or even certain cross-sections of it, having somehow transcended war, strikes me as naive and in denial of what the "post war" (as in post-WWII) era has actually been like.
Very telling you responded to this thread but not the other.
Are you ready to finally admit you were mistaken about covid vs influenza mortality in children? And to retract your slanderous statements that I was "lying", "spreading propaganda"?
I know it's much easier to snipe at me with snide comments like the one above. If that's all that you're interested in, rather than a substantive discussion, well, that wouldn't surprise me given the totality of our interaction over the past few days.
"Based on that analysis, what is striking is that those under the age of 15 are at significantly lower risk of death from COVID-19 than of the flu. Under our assumptions, for example, children under the age of 15 have a 1 in 155,535 chance of dying of influenza, but a 1 in 1.2 million chance of dying of COVID-19."
"For toddlers, the relative risk is even more pronounced. We estimate that Americans between ages 1–4 are 3.4 times more likely to die of influenza than of COVID-19."
In an attempt to head off your inevitable criticism that I'm citing "conservative propaganda", here's an article from New York Magazine making similar arguments:
"according to the CDC, among children the mortality risk from COVID-19 is actually lower than from the flu. The risk of severe disease or hospitalization is about the same."
"the infection fatality rate for those aged 5 to 9 is less than 0.001 percent"
Pointless mandates (masks), where the vast majority of the burden falls on the lower classes, while the laptop class pretends to be hard at work while comfortable at home, tend to breed resentment and suspicion of legitimate public health policy and intervention.
Try nearly zero. Much lower than other common pathogens like flu and RSV. Which is why the UK is not recommending mass vaccination of teenagers aged 12-15, or any children younger.
This is why many argue that the focus on covid in children is largely about the irrational fears of parents and educators who have not seriously looked at the data.
Some of us don't mask "just to go to the grocery store". That's HN software engineer privilege, 100%.
Many people, including little children, are expected to wear these masks 8 hours a day.
You have no idea what damage you are causing for the lower classes, the less fortunate, and American public school children.
Nor do you understand the effect this has had on the campaign for mass vaccination.
I can assure you this is significant. Minority enclaves in my city (Chicago), largely regard masks as "white people bullshit". I work in these communities.
It's not a stretch to see why they apply that same logic to vaccine mandates (even if the vaccines would be beneficial for most of their community).
This is semantics. Taking just heart disease as an example, all of the types that you mentioned are heavily influenced by the same types of behaviors. Smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc. I addressed this in another comment elsewhere in the thread.
Absolutely. Everyone should self-quarantine when sick. Is it your sense that large numbers of Americans aren't doing this? Anecdotally, I haven't seen a visibly sick person, outside of my immediate family, in a long, long time (needless to say, I don't work in a healthcare setting).
Arguably, retrofitting every important building in the country to be well ventilated is a challenge on a similar scale to changing our deeply ingrained unhealthy cultural habits.
I agree with the point you've made. The OP I was responding to in my first comment seemed to be suggesting something more extreme than, "get vaccinated, and then go live your life".
Social contagion is real. The U.S. has much higher rates of illness and death due to complications from obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc, than other developed countries, because of our shared culture of poor diet and sedentary lifestyle.
You pass on your way of life to your children. Your friends and family reinforce each other's decisions every time you make a meal, make plans, etc.
This stuff is all vitally important. And in fact, we would have lower rates of covid fatality if a larger percentage of our population took this seriously.
Beware the myopia that sensationalist news coverage tends to encourage.
Never forget all the lives lost. Not just the 3000+ we lost on that horrible day (RIP), but the millions more around the world lost in the wake of the actions we chose, as a nation, to take in the "war on terror".
Iraq and Syria were obliterated. Afghanistan didn't fare much better and was the longest war in U.S history.
Russia has been killing people in its so-called "sphere of influence" my entire life as well. Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine.
Parts of Africa, such as the Congo and Somalia, have been de-facto war zones for decades.
I don't mean to sound harsh but your comment about humanity, or even certain cross-sections of it, having somehow transcended war, strikes me as naive and in denial of what the "post war" (as in post-WWII) era has actually been like.